The Alternative Star.com

Spotlight on DJ Rossstar

For once, The Alternative Star has interviewed someone who isn’t in a band! DJ Rossstar is known for hosting the first and one of the most popular online radio shows for punk music and I got to chat with him over the phone! We mostly talked about the industry, his show being moved to Stickam and Green Day among other things.

You’ve recently moved your show from idobi to Stickam. What has the transition been like?

DJ Rossstar: The transition was really smooth! Since I started on idobi I wanted a way for people to see the bands in my studio and not just hear them. I never wanted to just record my shows and put them on YouTube because that would lose the feel of the show, it’s hard to get that live so once Stickam came along I jumped at the opportunity. They’ve been really helpful so far, you know between featuring my show live and placing banners on the site all week long as promotion for it. So it’s been really good change, idobi radio has been a lot of help and Stickam has also been a lot of help so far.

How has the response been? Better?

It’s hard to say because idobi radio is really great but I already had my audience. It was the same people coming back week after week and I wasn’t really gaining any new listeners. But with Stickam there is just so many people on that website from all walks of life. Idobi is mainly just a site for punk music while Stickam is for everything. I’ve been averaging 20 to 30 000 viewers a show with Stickam just because all these people who have never heard of me before are clicking on the show!

Changing topics, you got your start with college radio.

Yeah I was lucky! My college in Washington DC, American University, they had a college station but it was on the Internet! They had their own little Internet radio station and I started out there. I went around trying to convince bands to do interviews with me. I got New Found Glory, that was one of my first big ones and Piebald, Further Seems Forever and I just started getting some recorded interviews down. Then I started airing them on my live show every Wednesday night and from there it just caught on. A lot of listeners and a lot of bands themselves were like “Hey, there’s no other show that exists for this type of music so we’d like to help you out!”

Did you by any chance go for a degree in Communications too?

I did, I got a degree in Public Communications! I figured you know, I run the show myself, I created it myself, I marketed it myself, I do my own publicity, I do my own booking so I wanted to learn all walks of life, instead of strictly broadcasting. So I did Public Communications where I learned about public relations and about marketing. I did it all! And it really worked, it really was worth it. A lot of kids I talk to that are around 14, 15, 16 are for some reason very discouraged from going to college. They think that if they are friends with bands or that if they’re into the music scene that they’ll just get a good job right out of high school and that honestly is not the truth.

Good to know I’m on the right track; I’m just out of high school and taking a Joint Creative Communications degree right now.

Oh really? That’s awesome! I’m telling you right now, so many people think they can just skip ahead if they know people and that is 100% not true. Usually the people who do the hiring at the company will have no idea who you are or where you’re from.

What is the best advice you have for someone who wants to do what you do for a career?

For people starting out I’d say that when you start doing interviews try to be as personal as possible with the band or whoever you are interviewing. Don’t rush through the interview just to get the questions done, get to know the person because if you really make a connection with them on more than just an interview level then hopefully they’ll remember you as a good interview. Then they’ll go back and tell their label and their manager that “Hey, this is a great person, you should send all your artists to them because they really know how to do a good interview!” The key to doing a good interview is to first of all, show that of course you’re interested in their answers but also that you are interested in getting to know them. You know, the people behind the music.

If you could go back to give advice to yourself, what would it be?

I would say to relax and enjoy what I’ve done so far. A lot of people are always telling me how great the show is and how successful it is while I’ve always been thinking about what I could do to make it better so a lot of times I don’t get to sit back and enjoy what I’ve done so far.

What skills do you think are the most important to have in the music industry?

Bullshitting skills! No, I’m just kidding! (Laughs) Interviews are weird because with job interviews you really need something that makes you stand out and usually that’s your personality. I think you can go to an Ivy League school and you can have a 4.0 but if you’re boring or if you just come off as uninterested or tired or not thrilled to be there then they’re probably not going to hire you. So you’ve got to go in there with the best attitude and really try to create something that you can show these people that make you invaluable! For me, when I first moved down to Los Angeles I wanted a job. I didn’t just want to do my show two nights a week because it wasn’t anything that it is today. My first job was at Warner Bros. Records and I worked for a couple of other labels and then Buzznet. My radio show, my existing show, is what set me apart from the rest but if you don’t have a show like that, anything you can create or anything special that you think makes you stand out among other possible candidates will work. It’s important to not be afraid to talk about a skill you have!

Speaking of moving down to LA, what is it really like?

LA is great really! There’s like 8 concerts a night that you’d want to go to, hundreds of movie premieres, there’s malls, parks, outdoor shopping, museums, theme parks and beaches! It really is a place to go for celebrities that have fun 24 hours a day but you can also get really lazy in the process. I know a lot of people out here that are waiting for their big break, whether they want to be an actress or whatever but they don’t work. They just sit around all day and wait for it to come and that’s not how it works out here. You really have to go after it, you have to call people and knock on doors. For me, my goal in 2009 is to get an agent because my ultimate dream is to host shows on television. I want to host music shows, whether it’s a game show or an interview show, any kind of music show is what I want to do. Unfortunately it doesn’t matter how big your online presence is, the only way you’re going to get through to those people is through an agency. So next year I’m working on getting an agent to represent me, someone who really understands what I’m doing and what I’ve accomplished. It really is a challenge but I’m proactive and I like to meet people, I call people and knock down doors because you can’t just think that everyone knows who you are. Just because a certain band, record label or kid may know what my radio show is, there are also thousands of other people that have no clue. It’s like, never think that you’re hot shit and everyone knows who you are.

That’s an awesome idea, there aren’t very many good music shows on the air anymore. At least in Canada but I assume that the States isn’t much different.

Yeah, and they just keep on hiring washed up celebrities like Joey Fatone and Mario Lopez or they just have Ryan Seacrest host everything because he is a safe bet. I’m also sick of music shows where they just take a hot chick and give her a microphone because believe me; I could do so much better. Bands know me, I’m comfortable doing interviews. You see, they hire these girls that want to be actresses or models but they can’t get any gigs so they say “Ehh, let them host a show about pop culture or music” whereas that is my goal. You can see why at times it gets a bit frustrating. (Laughs)

Well, good luck to you either way! If you want it as bad as it seems you do, I don’t see why you won’t get it eventually.

I want to continue the web show as long as possible but I would much rather have hosting be my gig 24 hours a day. You know, before now I’ve been a Buzznet blogging, at DirecTV doing a show called Havoc and writing for Substream Magazine. All these gigs are awesome but hosting is my passion and that’s what I want to do every hour I’m awake!

What do you like most about doing your show?

 Honestly the thing I love most is putting people who really love these musicians in touch with their favourite bands. There are kids that have written to me from all over the world, from Uruguay, to Japan to New Zealand telling me “Hey DJ Rossstar, Fall Out Boy or Jack’s Mannequin or whoever is my favourite band, I’ve never had the chance to meet them but they’ve really shaped my life with their music and I just want to tell them this...” and then they can tell them this on the live show and there is no other show where kids at home can ask their favourite bands whichever questions they want, there is no rules. Artists have come to my house and have really opened up, telling things they wouldn’t tell to Fuse or VH1 just because they feel so comfortable. They know that the viewing audience really is their fans, not just people who are watching and flipping through the channels.

 Probably the other thing is helping create careers. I started my show in 2002 and some of the bands since then have been Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Yellowcard, Hawthorne Heights and the Used. I’ve breaked new artists, Katy Perry came over this year in March and no one knew who she was but by June she was an international superstar. You never really know who’s going to come by the show but I like to think I have a good ear for what’s going to be hot and big.

On the flipside, what is your least favourite?

My least favourite thing is that I don’t know have a way to regulate my instant messages. The entire show is done with IMs so anyone can send me one but the problem is the show is only an hour long. I keep it that way because if it was any longer, people might lose their attention span but we get so many questions and unfortunately a lot of the good ones are blocked by a lot of asinine ones. So somebody might want to know about a song that was left off of a band’s most recent album and where they could hear it and I’ll never get to it because there are other questions before it asking things like their favourite flavour of peanut butter. (Laughs)   So it certainly gets annoying because there are so many good questions but not enough time to read them all and ask them in an hour.

Which interview has been the most memorable?

I get this question a lot but I would have to say that any band that has been on the show more than once, that’s easily my favourite interview. If I don’t have a good time with somebody, it doesn’t matter how famous or popular they are, I don’t book them again. There have been bands that have come by that have been just boring. All Time Low have been on the show a couple of times, I Am Ghost, From First to Last, Jack’s Mannequin, Reel Big Fish, it doesn’t matter if the band is popular now or 10 years ago. If they’re funny and know how to do a good interview then I’ll have them back. Those are the most memorable ones because I just remember laughing my ass off during the entire interview with those bands and I’m sure there are some other ones I’ve forgotten too!

Good call on All Time Low, not only was it my first big interview but Alex did a very memorable interview with me as well.

All Time Low are great, they did their first interview on my show when they were in the 9th grade!

When I was trying to research questions, I found out Green Day are your favourite band. Have you had any cool encounters with them?

Yeah! I’ve been a Green Day fan since 1994 so almost 15 years and their lyrics are the reason I am who I am today. They taught me how to be an individual, how to think for myself and not to just conform to what was popular in high school or what is popular now, just to be my own individual. I starting seeing them in 94 when I was 12 and I got to meet them a few times briefly through the years. I’ve been on different TV shows with them, I saw them on Carson Daly and got to ask them a question once but the best part was earlier this year. Billie Joe went on a small tour of Southern California with his small side project Pinhead Gunpowder. They played really small venues in SoCal, 100-200 person places. At one of the shows, it was actually private party. I got an invite and it was at a house, there was so security, no backstage area, it was literally at someone’s house. Billie Joe was just hanging out there with everybody and I talked to him for like 20 minutes. To talk to someone who’s influenced you is an incredible feeling and the fact that he knows who I am now and knows about my show is really awesome!

Lastly, I’m sure you get asked this a lot too but either way, what’s your favourite Green Day record?

Good question! Until recently I used to get really mad at people and say “How could I pick my favourite Green Day record? They’re all amazing and have inspired me one way or another!” but once American Idiot came out that was it. I couldn’t believe that record was really created, that is by far my favourite Green Day record and I’m hoping that this new one that comes out in the spring time will be even better than that! Currently I would say American Idiot, then Insomniac, Kerplunk!, 1039 Smooth, Warning, Nimrod and Dookie. Everyone always gets surprised because Dookie is supposed to be their biggest album but for me a lot of the songs on the album I never related to and to this day I still don’t relate to it. Like the other albums have songs that almost seem they could have been written by reading the pages from my diary but that would be weird if I had a diary...

Interview by: Deborah Remus